NCDOT awards $16 million for state rail improvement projects

The N.C. Department of Transportation awarded more than $16 million to 40 projects across the state through the Freight Rail and Rail Crossing Safety Improvement program.

The program, established in 2013 by the General Assembly through Senate Bill 402, utilizes dividends received by the North Carolina Railroad Company. The fund supports projects that improve freight service and the safety of rail-highway crossings in the state.

A total of $4.7 million went to eight projects, which will close seven at-grade crossings around the state and improve adjacent crossings; $240,000 will be used to replace an at-grade crossing in Mount Airy; $3 million will go to 13 projects that will improve rail access for companies and enhance the ability to move freight via the rail network; $200,000 will be used for the "Project C" in transportation Division 1 with the requirement that the proposed industry commit to creating new jobs and using rail shipping for business needs; $5.3 million will go to 14 projects that will improve shortline railroads by adding capacity, increasing operating efficiency and enhancing safety on these critical rural development corridors; 1.9 million went to two projects that will modernize rail crossing signals and $833,000 will go towards a project to modernize and add capacity to the Wilmington Terminal Railroad at the Port of Wilmington.